It was a disappointing day for England since Sri Lanka were allowed to get 257. So obviously this was all Alastair Cook’s fault. The problem is that Shane Warne is currently believed to be on James Packer’s yacht somewhere off the coast of Greece, so how can the English cricketing public, which constitutes so many Daily Telegraph reading dish-owners, be properly made aware of the captain’s latest cock-ups? Here only a pale imitation of Cook’s manifest shortcomings can be provided.

Well, on the morning of the match Cook failed to consult the wealth of experience offered by England’s former captains. Yes, he talked to Andrew Strauss; we know he talks to Nasser Hussain. But on the ground there must have been half a dozen others, from Geoffrey Boycott to Michael Vaughan, waiting to be consulted yet ignored before the toss. What arrogance. Does he not have Raymond Illingworth’s telephone number? Or Donald Carr’s, England’s oldest surviving Test captain?

Then Cook had the stupidity to win the toss. This was obviously a good toss to lose but obviously he did not throw the coin high enough – Michael Clarke can throw the coin much higher than that. Then his field placements left much to be desired. Take Matt Prior. Was he really in the right place when that regulation edge from Kumar Sangakkara, who was on 27, thudded from chest to turf? Perhaps the England captain had disturbed his wicketkeeper’s concentration by banging on about the constant criticisms he receives from the world’s greatest-ever spinner.

Bear in mind the treatment of Moeen Ali. The poor little kid was fielding at long-leg at both ends to the left and right handers, which meant that he must have been travelling at least a quarter of mile every over. This was so insensitive. Ali must have been tired when summoned up to bowl, which accounts for the odd long-hop. It might also explain that tough chance missed by Ali when Sangakkara had 58.

Cook was lucky that someone had wandered into short-leg when Lahiru Thirimanne took guard. But his management of the sun was appalling. He allowed it to come out after lunch, which was just what England did not want. Pup would never have let that happen. And he did not even recognise when Stuart Broad was on a hat-trick (oddly enough nor did the bowler himself).

You get the picture? It seems as if it is not permitted to have any middle ground when discussing Cook – mind you, middle ground is tricky to achieve if the debate is carried out on Twitter. Before the game Cook admitted that Warne’s criticisms seemed “personal”. He was telling the truth, which is a dangerous thing to do at press conferences, and this may not be wise since the ante is immediately upped. But this regime promised a bit more candour and Cook delivered.

He is right that Warne is on his case – and it is not just a Piers Morgan/KP thing after last winter. Warne was unrelenting last summer. At The Oval in the final Ashes Test, when Clarke declared with such eye-catching audacity, Warne was tweeting constantly: “I just don’t get why Cook is so negative and has been through the whole series.” Followed by “Why did @KP24 not come in and at least try for a win. Negative stuff again. Such a shame”. In fact England would have romped home that day even without Pietersen opening the batting if bad light had not intervened to spare Clarke’s blushes.

In the current, polarised climate a serious debate is difficult. Moreover the jury is almost always out on an England captain. Cook is not the most intuitive of leaders; there may be a kernel of truth in some of the criticisms of his tactical awareness. He has yet to master the media, unlike Tony Greig, Mike Brearley, Hussain, Vaughan and Strauss before him.

But he also has a lot going for him in addition to those series victories against Australia and in India – and this is most definitely not based on him coming from “a good family”. He is tough; he has demonstrated that as a player and now that he is looking frayed and vulnerable for the first time in his career he has to prove it again. He is single-minded and the players in this dressing room support him. When he scores runs he can be inspirational.

Most relevantly he is currently the best available option – although this is not necessarily an opinion that meets with universal agreement on the wine-dark sea of the Aegean.